PODUJEVO, Serbia (Reuters) - Kosovo Albanians plan to honor their "savior" Bill Clinton by erecting a statue of the former United States president in the capital of Serbia's breakaway province.

The three-meter (10-foot) tall monument is still under construction in a studio in Podujevo north of Pristina.

"He is our savior. He saved us from extermination," sculptor Izeir Mustafa told Reuters. "I was thrilled by the work because I know what he did for us."

Kosovo has been under U.N. administration since 1999 after 78 days of NATO bombing ousted Serb troops who had killed some 10,000 ethnic Albanians in an 18-month counter-insurgency war against Albanian separatist guerrillas.

Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanians. They expect to get their own state in the coming months with U.S. and European Union support, despite the opposition of Serbia and its main ally, Russia.

Kosovo Albanian sculptor Izeir Mustafa works on a statue of former President Bill Clinton in a studio in Podujevo, 50km (30 miles) north of Pristina, May 22, 2007. Kosovo Albanians plan to honor their "savior" Clinton by erecting a statue of him in the capital of Serbia's breakaway province. REUTERS/Hazir Reka

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